Tag: life is a journey

Have you ever sat and listened to an inspiring speaker or read a book that just took you away with the wisdom and insight they shared? After sharing the dilemma or crisis they were facing, a good speaker or author will tell you what they concluded from the process. They say things like “I realized’, or “It dawned on me”, or “Then it became clear”. It’s the moment we are all waiting for–it’s the exhale after holding your breath wondering how they will find their way through such a fog of confusion and mystery. The answer inspires us with hope. There is a lot of space between the dilemmas and the conclusions in our life.–sometimes days, sometimes years. It’s that time in between the crisis and the conclusion that most of us want to eliminate. More often than not, I find the most inspiration in the journey of others more than in the destinations.

Crisis– It is uncomfortable. Sometimes it is confusing, humbling, degrading, undignified, ridiculous, or just plain crazy. Sometimes I feel that if anyone saw how I “really” handled that situation, they would drop me like a “hot potato”. I want to skip to the end of most of my life’s crisis’. I often ask God (who sees the future), “Will I survive this?” Having the answer to this question would come in handy from time to time. For this reason I read a lot. I read biographies of others who have faced trouble. I read books written by counselors, and professionals who have experience in the area of life I am struggling with. I find people of wisdom and spend as much time with them as I can.

There is a certain kind of “compliment” I receive from time to time from people who I speak to through my blogs or in person, and that is that I am “refreshingly normal”. It’s their way of saying that in some way they identified with me in the day-to-day normal routine of life and that caught them off guard. Honestly, I have struggled to be content with who I am with all of my quirks and weaknesses, but true to my character here I want to tell you how I move from crisis to conclusion most days. I pout. I cry. I ask a lot of questions. I resist. I dig in my heels. I withdraw. I get angry. I pray. I hope. I ask more questions. I research. I repent. I try. I reach out. I ask for help. I ask for prayers. I forgive. I believe. I put one foot in front of the other and I keep walking. Oh! And then I blog about it! This is what my journey looks like. Some of these journeys are long and some are shorter. I would like to say I move from problem to solution with godly attitudes and supernatural revelation more than I do. The key for me is to just keep moving.

Maybe someday I will be “Superwoman”. Perhaps one day I will know the right things to say, and the most tasteful way to say them. I may one day be full of such wisdom and insight that royalty from other countries seek out my knowledge. But more than likely I will be “Cate Morris, the woman who was so dependent on the Lord to keep her from making a fool of herself.”

So here is my conclusion on the matter of crisis and conclusion: Life is the journey. It doesn’t matter as much how you came out of the starting gate, but that you finish well. Sometimes we need someone to hold our hand through the dark or lift us when we fall–that’s called encouragement. The finish line is Christ, and we need need to be shaped into his likeness. We can’t forget that the trials come to shape us and form our hearts after His.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing

Hebrews 3:13

13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.